Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 549 Solving the Bandits 2
Yang Menglong stayed in Wuhan, Jingzhou and other places for a month...

During this month, everyone worked together, with money and strength, and with all their wealth and wealth to support the front line. We only hope that the front line will win the battle, is there anything?Very fanatical, isn't it?And Qin Mai and Wang Rui did not let everyone down. There were frequent good news from the front line, and they set a record of winning four counties within a week.The landlords' armed forces in Hunan have been very fierce and tenacious since ancient times. However, in the face of the Qin Wangyi army with a large number of people, high morale, strict discipline, and rifled guns installed in the rear, no matter how powerful the landlords' armed forces are, there is nothing they can do. Many counties are just Seeing the rebels singing passionate battle songs pouring over the mountains and plains, I was scared to pee. I obediently opened the door and surrendered. The few who refused to surrender were also easy to deal with. Cities near the river would be fired by 85mm caliber shells from warships cruising in the river. The bricks and rocks were blown up, and the city was far away from the river, and the cities that could not be hit by shells were served by 120mm cannons and unscrupulous cannons. The officers and soldiers guarding the city were smashed to pieces, and a gap was blasted in the city wall, and then The rebels waved their spears and scimitars and swarmed in, and a city was taken down like this.

The next step is to recruit some talented and reputable scholars to manage the place. Everyone is becoming more and more skilled at this.

Rolling thunder shook the land of Hunan, and the cities fell one after another. The originally honest and cowardly farmers and military households rebelled overnight, and the entire Hunan was surrounded by war.For the vassal kings and the Jin gentry, the most unfavorable thing was that many scholars began to turn to the rebels.They had no reason not to fall to the rebels. In the Ming Dynasty, imperial examinations were used to select scholars. There were so many scholars, but there were very few who could pass. They exhausted their family talents in order to study, but in the end they failed to pass the exam for various reasons. They had to endure the hardship. Who would be willing to live a hard life as a scholar or even a child without ever having a chance to get ahead?The Rebel Army employs talents in any way. They joined the Rebel Army in the past. I can't say that they will be reused and become the governor of a prefecture or county. But at least they will have errands to do, and if they do well, they can be promoted. If it were you, What would you choose?To put it bluntly, the rebels have strict military discipline and strong combat power. Maybe they will really conquer the world in the future?If they conquer the world in the future, the merit of following the dragon will be enough for them to survive for several generations!As the rebel army swept across Hunan became more and more obvious, not only those down-and-out scholars, but also many enlightened gentry were moved, and they donated money to support the rebel army, and even recommended their own children to serve in the rebel army.For these gentry, it doesn't matter whether the surname is Zhu, Qin, or Wang. As long as it can ensure the interests of their family and allow them to go further, they are willing to sell the iron.

With the general situation like this, those officers and soldiers who fought against the rebels were quite miserable.Fighting is definitely impossible, and anyone who volunteers to fight against the rebels will first be scolded by his family, comrades-in-arms, and even his superiors: "Are you fucking crazy? We all hope that the rebels will quickly take the whole of Huguang." You still take the initiative to fight against them when you have a good share of the land?" There is no way, a large agricultural country has come to the end, and the poor people always account for the vast majority, including Yang Menglong, the initiator, and Wang Rui and Qin, who commanded the rebel army to fight. Mai!
On October [-], the sixth year of Chongzhen, the rebel army captured Changde after several days of fierce fighting.

On October 27, the sixth year of Chongzhen, the rebel army captured Changsha and wiped out the whole family of King Ji... It was time for Chongzhen to break something again.

So far, the entire Jianghan Plain has been captured by the rebels, the local tyrants, evil gentry, and feudal kings and clans have been wiped out, and most of the surnames have been assigned a piece of land, and they are ecstatic.However, while the people were delighted, they were also faintly worried.

This worry comes from that terrible neighbor in the north, the Heluo Xinjun.

The Heluo New Army was the most powerful army in the Ming Dynasty. It killed Jiannu twice in Daling River and Lushun and made rivers of blood flow. It took less than a month to suppress the rebellion in thousands of miles and wiped out tens of thousands of Denglai rebels. It was one of the strongest armies. The name resounded throughout the country. If the imperial court ordered the Heluo New Army to go south to quell the rebellion, would the rebels be able to withstand it?Can they keep the land they just received?

The Jianghan Plain is a rare large plain in Central China. If the Heluo New Army moves south from Heluo and advances by land and water, they will be able to use their best blitzkrieg to the limit. Even if the rebels claim to have 50 people, they will never be able to withstand it. .However, the attitude of the Heluo New Army is surprising. From the beginning of the Huguangyi Army to the present, they have had countless opportunities to nip the rebels in the bud, but they have never taken action. They allowed the rebels to grow step by step and sweep across the two lakes areas. They fought What is the abacus?
On November [-], Wang Rui traveled thousands of miles back to Wuhan in a light outfit and met Yang Menglong in secret.It was already very cold at this time, with dark clouds pressing all the way to the roof, and it might snow heavily at any time. As he galloped around day and night, the cold wind blew several small cuts on his lips, which hurt like hell. But when he saw Yang Menglong, He couldn't help but grin.

Yang Menglong sized him up. After a year of training, this Shaanxi Lengwa already had the demeanor of a general. If he was placed in the Heluo New Army, he would definitely be able to stand on his own.He raised his hand, and threw a bottle of warmed wine over: "It's amazing, it changed in less than a year, and commanded hundreds of thousands of rebels to fight everywhere, and the officers and soldiers were terrified. It's amazing!" Pat the sofa, "Sit."

The attitude is very casual, no different from before.

Wang Rui also sat down casually.Everything is still so familiar, just like meeting for the first time, everyone is huddled in a dilapidated house, lying on the floor and sleeping soundly.They are not like the relationship between a boss and a subordinate, but more like good friends, good brothers.There is no need to be so polite between good brothers.He took a sip of strong wine and said, "Congratulations, you have become the first general in the Ming Dynasty to be named Marquis with military exploits in 200 years!"

Yang Menglong said angrily: "Congratulations! I worked hard and cut off more than 6000 heads. No matter what, they should have given me a reward of 60 million taels of silver. The result was good, I was only given less than 10 taels, which was not even enough to fit between my teeth. I was really pissed off!"

Wang Rui grinned, this guy is still a string of money, nothing has changed.

Yang Menglong touched him with the wine bottle, then took a few sips, and then asked: "How is Qin Mai doing recently? He was willing to risk his life when he fought. He wasn't injured, right?"

Wang Rui said: "He has restrained himself a lot since he became the commander-in-chief of the rebel army. He rarely goes into battle in person anymore."

Yang Menglong said: "That's right, Commander-in-Chief, just be responsible for dispatching troops and dispatching generals. There is no reason to go to battle in person! You have to remind him often, so that he won't forget about it in a blink of an eye."

Wang Rui glanced at him: "How did I hear that your Excellency fought against Jiannu's fierce general Yue Tuo in Lushun and killed him?"

Yang Menglong laughed a few times, waved his hands and said: "That's different, that's different! That kid put his nose on his face and led a group of white armored soldiers straight to my general flag. If I retreat, the morale of the whole army will be demoralized." How can we fight this battle?" He looked at the dark sky outside the window and said, "It's all right now, the entire Jianghan Plain has been taken down, give me a few more years, no matter what happens, our Heluo New Army They are now invincible...Wang Rui, you and Qin Mai have made extraordinary achievements!"

Wang Rui said excitedly: "That's all thanks to your full support. Without your full support of weapons and food, we wouldn't have been able to succeed! By the way, sir, now the entire Jianghan Plain has been captured, including the vassal clan, local tyrants and evil gentry. It has also been swept away, what should we do next?”

Yang Menglong said: "Let me tell you the bottom line. In March next year at the most, the Heluo New Army will go south to suppress the rebellion."

Wang Rui snorted, very calm, he was very clear about the so-called counter-insurgency.The so-called counter-insurgency might as well be called handover.

Yang Menglong continued: "The imperial court appointed Old Man Fang as the governor of Huguang. His right-hand men with the best conduct and the strongest abilities will take up important positions. Xiangyang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Changde, Changsha and other cities will be governed by them."

Wang Rui asked hopefully: "Can these places be governed like Nanyang?"

Yang Menglong smiled: "Nonsense, we have spent so much effort to conquer this land. Of course we have to govern it like Nanyang. Only in this way can we ensure the peace and stability of Jianghan Plain and let the people live and work in peace and contentment. Otherwise, I want this What is the land for?"

Wang Rui was still uneasy: "All important official positions are held by people from our Nanyang system?"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes, all important official positions are."

Wang Rui asked: "Will the imperial court intervene?"

Yang Menglong sneered: "They want to intervene, but I told them that the people in Huguang are very wild, especially after being trained by the rebels. Every household has swords, guns, bows and arrows, and they will kill people if they disagree... Guess what? ? Their faces turned green!"

Wang Rui laughed loudly: "My lord really didn't threaten them. At least in the Jianghan Plain area, every household has swords, guns, bows and crossbows. Fighting for water to irrigate the fields and robbing a mine can lead to a fight of thousands of people. Sometimes even earthen cannons are used, as long as the adults don’t confiscate their knives and guns, those corrupt officials will come and die one by one.”

Yang Menglong said: "Several county magistrates in Denglai have already died. With them as an example, those corrupt officials who want to come to Huguang to search for the people's fat and anointing really have to think twice." He walked to the window and looked out the window. The river water and the water wheel that rotates day and night under the drive of the river water, look excited.Wang Rui also came over, looked at the factories lined up along the two sides of the river, and said sincerely, "It's amazing... so many factories have been built in just a few months!"

Yang Menglong said: "There will be more in the future. Wang Rui, believe it or not, in the future, factories will bloom everywhere, and a city will create more wealth than a province!"

Wang Rui said: "I have no doubt about this."

Yang Menglong said: "But you still can't rest, you still have to fight to Guangzhou, take Guangdong and Guangxi for me, I need an outlet to the sea!"

Wang Rui smiled: "Do you dare to disobey?" He found that he liked this task more and more.He likes to see those black-hearted vassal kings and evil gentry trembling in the angry roar of the people. He likes to see the numb eyes of the common people recover after the fields are distributed, and a smile appears on their thin faces. He likes to see that everywhere The order, which exudes a disgusting and decaying stench like moldy bones, collapsed and shattered in front of him.Now, except for the Jianghan Plain, the whole of Ming Dynasty might call him a murderous demon king, a gangster who commits all kinds of crimes, right?He doesn't care, because he knows that what he is doing is a great cause that can benefit thousands of people.

As long as there is an opportunity, as long as it is possible, no one will refuse to devote himself to such a cause.

(End of this chapter)